1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a throw-away toothbrush with means for dispensing toothpaste in sufficient quantity for at least one complete cleaning of the teeth, and more particularly to a toothbrush made of inexpensive synthetic material with a short useful life, so that after very little use, it loses the properties which make it suitable for satisfactory dental hygiene. One of its features is that it is equipped with a reservoir designed to contain toothpaste which, when a plunger that moves back and forth in the reservoir is pushed, can be transferred to the spaces between the bristles of the brush in order to facilitate proper cleaning.
More specifically, this invention relates to a throwaway low-cost toothbrush provided with necessary means of reaching the consumer with a sufficient charge of toothpaste to permit at least one complete cleaning of the teeth thereby constituting both the packaging of this toothpaste and the means for its application.
From what has been stated above, it can readily be deduced that the brush covered by this invention solves the problem of the suitable and necessary hygiene of the teeth after each meal outside the user's home.
Obviously, it is a known fact that for elementary reasons of hygiene, and even out of simple convenience, it is absolutely necessary to clean the teeth at least after each meal as it is then that food particles are lodged between the teeth with the well known pernicious consequences not only for the health of the teeth themselves, but also because of the many unpleasant sensations which they produce. However, according to conventional means, such cleaning normally requires the use of brushes and dentifrices, either in liquid or in paste form, all of which involves the need to carry along these elements. Because of the corresponding inconvenience, very few individuals follow this practice, especially if one bears in mind the fact that, after use, these implements have to be cleaned in order to be replaced either in a pocket of one's clothing, or in a pocketbook, container or the like. The toothbrush, practically down to the present time, has been a device which people have in their homes, the same as dentifrices, and when they eat meals elsewhere, they usually postpone brushing their teeth until they return home, which can be many hours later, during which time the accumulated food residues are having their harmful effects.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In order to remedy this disadvantage, many variations have been proposed of toothbrushes capable of being carried in one's pocket or purse, including some which can carry their own load of toothpaste in order to obviate the need to carry this second element, but practice has demonstrated that these methods have not received sufficiently wide acceptance, partly due to the cost and to the necessary concern for not forgetting them when leaving home.
Among the known proposals is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,432,245 wherein the entire toothbrush handle serves as a cylinder and a piston extends beyond the end of the handle remote from the bristles to extrude a charge of dentifrice to the bristles when pushed into the cylinder. This device is relatively expensive and suffers from the disadvantages that the dentrifice is applied only to the inner end of the group of bristles, and more importantly, that when the device is carried in the pocket or purse, the piston or plunger may be inadvertently pressed toward the bristles to discharge the dentifrice.
Other examples of prior efforts are found in Argentine Pat. No. 189,034 and Patent of Addition thereto No. 199,225 of Carlos Jose Marano, the disclosures of which illustrate compressible sacks of dentifrice located in the brush handle for discharging dentifrice onto the bristles by compression of the sacks by the user's finger. These constructions are difficult to manufacture and do not enable all of the dentifrice to be discharged, and also suffer from the possibility of inadvertent discharge as mentioned above.
It is well established that these approaches have totally failed.